Editorial from Monitor/ Albanian agriculture, which still accounts for about 15 percent of the national economy, is going through a difficult period.
For the third consecutive year, this sector is in decline, burdened by old problems – land fragmentation, lack of mechanization, market fragmentation, and unstable support policies, combined with the abandonment of rural areas by emigration.
As agricultural production has declined for more than two consecutive years, Albania risks losing not only its competitiveness in the region, but also its opportunities to benefit from the financial support that the European Union is offering to candidate countries.
Following investigations by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the European Union has temporarily frozen 112 million euros from the IPARD program, after finding irregularities and misuse in around 33 million euros of previous funds.
In a special interview given to "Monitor", the senior OLAF representative emphasized that the process of cooperation with the Albanian authorities is continuing, but underlines that concerns over the way the funds have been used remain serious and that the real implementation of anti-corruption measures is crucial for future decisions in Brussels.
In fact, the risk goes far beyond the loss of these funds. The way Albania manages the IPARD program will directly affect its credibility as a candidate country for membership in the European Union and its ability to absorb larger funding in the future.
According to official EU sources, Albania could benefit from up to 1 billion euros in European funds by 2027, through programs related to reform, energy, rural development, and digitalization.
But this potential remains conditioned by the ability to guarantee transparency, integrity and fair management of public funds.
Therefore, the blocking of IPARD is not an isolated episode – it is a warning signal for how the country will handle a much larger volume of funding in the coming years.
At a time when the European Union integration process has entered a new phase, Albania's financial credibility becomes as important as meeting political and legal criteria.
The European Union is increasingly linking financial support to performance in the fight against corruption and to fund management standards.
Any irregularities, delays or failures in the implementation of financial reforms risk directly affecting the pace of fund disbursement and the level of trust in Brussels.
EU experts have suggested that in the next decade, benefiting from EU funds will be one of the main growth engines for Albania, but only if the public administration gains the capacity to use them efficiently and honestly.
The creation of structures such as SASPAC (the Audit Service and System for the Prevention of Abuse of EU Funds in Albania) and the adoption of the National Anti-Fraud Strategy are important steps, but the real implementation of these policies will determine whether the country will manage to seize or lose the momentum.
The IPARD event should serve as a test of institutional acumen. If the government responds with transparency, punishes abuses, and establishes effective control mechanisms, Albania can restore the trust of international partners and regain full access to EU funds.
Otherwise, any delay will have a knock-on effect on other European programs and isolate the country at a time when the region is moving forward.
The agricultural blockade is a clear symptom of a broader problem: weakness in the administration of public funds.
If Albania aims to be part of the European Union not only politically, but also economically, it must show that it can responsibly manage every euro invested by European taxpayers.
The experience of Eastern European countries shows that the efficient use of EU funds has been crucial for economic development and approximation to Union standards.
For example, Romania and Bulgaria, which joined in 2007, have jointly benefited from over 80 billion euros, while agricultural policy funds have helped modernize farms and reduce rural poverty.
Croatia, a member since 2013, has received around 25 billion euros in EU funds, managing to triple investments in the agricultural sector and rural tourism, according to data from the European Commission and the European Court of Auditors (ECA).
Therefore, this is a test that the country cannot afford to miss. Albania must seize the moment, strengthen its control institutions, fight corruption, and show that it is ready to administer with integrity the funds that will determine its path to Europe. Only then can the “blockage” of agriculture turn into a turning point for the entire Albanian economy.
